Australia UMAT  

includes a social skills test for qualifying for medical studies

 

(From Wikipedia) 

The Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) is a test administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in Australia and New Zealand to assist in the selection of students into certain health science courses including most medical (MBBS or MBChB) and Dentistry (BDSc or BDS) courses, as well as other health science courses including physiotherapy and pharmacy. The UMAT is used for selection into undergraduate courses only; applicants for graduate courses must sit the GAMSAT. Each year, the UMAT is held on a single day, typically during either late July or early August.

 

Before the introduction of the UMAT as a component of university entrance requirements, the sole criterion for entry into medical or health science degrees was final year high school (Year 12) results. A consortium of universities found this criterion too restrictive, as it did not reflect all the qualities required to successfully study and practise medicine. Consequently, the UMAT was introduced to assess the qualities deemed by ACER and the UMAT Consortium universities to be important to the study and practice of medicine and the health sciences. These qualities include: critical thinking and problem solving, ability to understand people, and abstract non-verbal reasoning.

 

The 2005 UMAT consisted of three sections:

  1. Logical reasoning and problem solving (44 questions to be completed in 65 minutes)
  2. Understanding people (36 questions to be completed in 45 minutes)
  3. Non-verbal reasoning (30 questions to be completed in 40 minutes)

A candidate's UMAT score consist of three numbers, one for each section of the test, as well as a percentile ranking (out of 100) for each section. These UMAT scores are valid for 2 years.

The nature of the UMAT is quite different from typical school examinations; academic brilliance does not necessarily equate to an outstanding UMAT result

 

 

from http://umatweb.acer.edu.au/images/infobook/UMAT_InfoBook.pdf  (part of the official UMAT 2007 information booklet) 

 

Example Questions — Section 2

 

Bob’s wife, Mary, has been in hospital recovering from a heart

attack. The doctor informs Bob that she is now well enough to

return home, although she will need to ‘take things easy for a

while’.

Bob:

I’m glad she can come home now Doctor, but I’m not

sure I can look after Mary by myself. We live on our own,

you know.

Doctor:

Bob, it’s natural to feel a little anxious, but the best

thing for Mary will be to be back in her own environment.

 

1.

In his response, the doctor has

A

not realised that Bob is concerned.

B

not really dealt with Bob’s concerns.

C

responded to Bob’s concerns effectively.

D

made Bob feel bad about being concerned.

 

2.

Following the doctor’s reply, Bob is likely to feel

A

relieved.

B

empowered.

C

embarrassed.

D

apprehensive.

 

 

In the following passage, an adolescent boy talks about living

with a physical disability.

As I have been physically disabled all my life, I have managed

to cope with the purely practical problems arising with a

minimum of fuss. I felt no loss, because I had no feelings of

‘normality’ to compare with. One of my physical problems is

that I am short, about 127 centimetres tall. I was constantly

mistaken by strangers for a little kid. It’s a real pain for a

16-year-old boy to be handed a kid’s menu every time he

enters a restaurant. It is even worse when mere coherent

speech is greeted with awe.

 

3.

For the writer, the main problem with his disability is

A

the embarrassment of being so short.

B

never knowing what it is to be ‘normal’.

C

dealing with other people’s preconceptions.

D

coping with the practical problems caused by his

condition.

 

 
USAGE:  The UMAT is now an entry requirement for all UMAT Consortium universities, which constitute the vast majority of medical schools in Australia and New Zealand. Each university determines its own cut-off scores for UMAT results (based either on the "raw" section scores or section percentiles, depending on the university), obtaining the results directly from ACER. In determining whether or not a candidate should be awarded a place, most universities also take into account a structured or semi-structured interview with the candidate, as well as Year 12 results

Go to: Magazine article on a Social Skills self test     based on this Social Skills website

Go to: Page on what leads to SUCCESS in any field

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